COSCO Shipping Ports (CSP), the world’s largest terminal operator, saw its net profit fall by 27.9% in the first quarter of 2019, compared to the same time 12 months ago, according to its financial results.
In total, CSP made US$49.9 million, with its gross profit was $70.1 million, a fall of 5.2% compared with the first quarter of 2018.
The fall in profits come despite CSP increasing its revenue, which rose by 4.1%, and its throughput, which jumped by 5.6%.
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Greater China remains its most important region, as its ports and terminals in that region increased by 3.6% and accounted for 76.9% of the total throughput.
Within Greater China, throughput increased in the Bohai Rim, Yangtze River Delta, Peral River Delta Southwest Coast regions.
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The Southeast Coast and Others was the only Chinese region to see its throughput region drop, which it did by 0.8%.
Throughput in CSP’s non-Chinese regions increased by 13% and accounted for 32.1% of its total numbers. The COSCO-PSA Terminal in Singapore increased its throughput by 54.2%, which was credited to the addition of two new berths, a story Port Technology reported on.
In a statement, CSP said it remains committed to building a global terminal network and is strategically exploring investment opportunities through China’s Belt and Road Initiative.
Furthermore, while it said that the outlook for the rest of 2019 is uncertain, it hopes for a resolution to the US-China trade war and that Beijing will increase its trade cooperation with Europe.
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